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Barcelona 1972 was before my time but I’ve been brought up with the ‘narrative’ that Rangers fans fought with the police and brought shame on the club and country. However, I was recently talking to an Everton fan who is an academic (yes you can get clever scousers – it’s not an oxymoron) and he was alluding to the fact that the Rangers fans by fighting back against Franco’s police in 1972 was seen as a very good thing by the independence seeking Catalonians.

I had never considered this, or more importantly, never heard this version of the events in Scotland.

Anyone?

Note: Franco stepped down as Premier in 1973, died in 1975 and Catalonia claimed political freedom in 1978.

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It was as the Everton chap suggests. My in laws (I'm not married but more or less) were both there and confirm this. Essentially, the Rangers fans were in good spirits and celebratory. As would be expected from the bully boys of a dictatorship, the Guardia Civil responded brutally, they overreacted and were aggressive towards the Rangers supporters and assaulted many. The Rangers fans fought back, which was not normal amongst the catalans who had learned this was not good for your health and continued existence. The Catalans were impressed and supportive of the Rangers fans in the most part. My in laws spent some time in the bars with the Catalans and the Rangers fans largely got on like a house on fire with them.

It's a pity the mhanks are muscling in on the relationship that was built there.

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I was there and after the game outside the main entrance, injured police and fans waiting on ambulances were drinking, smoking and chatting to each other after knocking the shit out of each other, later walking back to the city center you had to watch out for mounted police, scouring for stragglers to beat up. Injured fans were helped by the locals in bars, those long batons do some damage. Overall the locals were very friendly towards us.

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"It's a pity the mhanks are muscling in on the relationship that was built there".

That’s part of my issue here. It’s them that use this ‘narrative of Barcelona’ against us.

But if this story is true (and your in-laws seem to support this point) then the irony is startling here. Rangers fans helped Catalonians in their fight against Franco’s regime (who ironically was also a staunch supporter of Catholicism) and establishment of a Catalonian Republic. Time to change the 'narrative' I think.

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I was there and after the game outside the main entrance, injured police and fans waiting on ambulances were drinking, smoking and chatting to each other after knocking the shit out of each other, later walking back to the city center you had to watch out for mounted police, scouring for stragglers to beat up. Injured fans were helped by the locals in bars, those long batons do some damage. Overall the locals were very friendly towards us.

Thanks for that DR. Do you think the heavy-handedness of the police was because the game was played in the Catalonian capital and they didn't want mass celebrations going on in that particular area?

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"It's a pity the mhanks are muscling in on the relationship that was built there".

That’s part of my issue here. It’s them that use this ‘narrative of Barcelona’ against us.

But if this story is true (and your in-laws seem to support this point) then the irony is startling here. Rangers fans helped Catalonians in their fight against Franco’s regime (who ironically was also a staunch supporter of Catholicism) and establishment of a Catalonian Republic. Time to change the 'narrative' I think.

Yes, it is. It's always going to be the way they twist it.

Think of the famous Wembley pitch invasion by Scotland fans. It was largely peaceful and presented as such. Rangers fans were the same, but it's Rangers fans so it must have been bad. People are revising history to suit their agendas/ based on their prejudices.

Apparently Barca fans of a certain vintage still have good things to say about Rangers. There was also the interview of Puyol who said his dad or uncle spoke to him favourably about Rangers fans.

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Thanks for that DR. Do you think the heavy-handedness of the police was because the game was played in the Catalonian capital and they didn't want mass celebrations going on in that particular area?

I think it's simpler than that. I think if you get used to acting that way towards people....

The Guardia Civil were bully boys. State implements of control. I think it was inevitable what happened, especially when dealing with fans from our part of the world that were probably more predisposed to sticking up for themselves than many.

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Why have I only found out about this version of events until recently? (and by a guy from a different country) Why have I never heard this version of events in Scotland, even amongst Rangers fans? Has it ever been written about? There must be some older bears out there who can help with this. If this was septic they would be portraying themselves as revolutionaries and freedom fighters and they would be shouting it from the rooftops but we just sit back and take their bullshit 'thugs and troublemakers narrative' like fucking sheep. Can anyone point me to any article written on this?

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Why have I only found out about this version of events until recently? (and by a guy from a different country) Why have I never heard this version of events in Scotland, even amongst Rangers fans? Has it ever been written about? There must be some older bears out there who can help with this. If this was septic they would be portraying themselves as revolutionaries and freedom fighters and they would be shouting it from the rooftops but we just sit back and take their bullshit 'thugs and troublemakers narrative' like fucking sheep. Can anyone point me to any article written on this?

Sorry, don't know of any. You're right though. Even Manchester has been exaggerated. They had 27 arrested in Blackburn en route to Seville, which was a higher rate of arrests per number of fans. That is never mentioned though.

They are better at propaganda than us and have historically had a much more deep seated desire to make us look like the bad guys. I think it's part of their traditional inferiority complex.

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Sorry, don't know of any. You're right though. Even Manchester has been exaggerated. They had 27 arrested in Blackburn en route to Seville, which was a higher rate of arrests per number of fans. That is never mentioned though.

They are better at propaganda than us and have historically had a much more deep seated desire to make us look like the bad guys. I think it's part of their traditional inferiority complex.

Thanks for your contribution to this topic Inigo. I'm really concerned about the way we, as a fan base, just accept these 'narratives' and also the way we portray ourselves in these situations. Why the feck has no-one from our side written about these version of events? I'm certainly going to be looking into this in more depth now that I'm aware of the situation. But come on, there must be older bears out there who can help with this!

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Thanks for your contribution to this topic Inigo. I'm really concerned about the way we, as a fan base, just accept these 'narratives' and also the way we portray ourselves in these situations. Why the feck has no-one from our side written about these version of events? I'm certainly going to be looking into this in more depth now that I'm aware of the situation. But come on, there must be older bears out there who can help with this!

You're welcome. I share your concerns. Happy digging. (tu)

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It was as the Everton chap suggests. My in laws (I'm not married but more or less) were both there and confirm this. Essentially, the Rangers fans were in good spirits and celebratory. As would be expected from the bully boys of a dictatorship, the Guardia Civil responded brutally, they overreacted and were aggressive towards the Rangers supporters and assaulted many. The Rangers fans fought back, which was not normal amongst the catalans who had learned this was not good for your health and continued existence. The Catalans were impressed and supportive of the Rangers fans in the most part. My in laws spent some time in the bars with the Catalans and the Rangers fans largely got on like a house on fire with them.

It's a pity the mhanks are muscling in on the relationship that was built there.

that's pretty much what me eldest brother said when he came home. he also mentioned seeing some fans being charged at by the mounted mob and this helped to create most of the trouble.
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The ECWC final in Barcelona in 1972 was an explosive cocktail demanding initiation.

Spain was still a fascist country ruled by Il Caudillo, General Franco. He was the victor of the Spanish civil war(1936-39). Spain was/is a loose coalition of warring tribes, Franco subjugated the Basques, Catalans, Galicians, ..... etc. Castilian Spain dominated absolutely for 35 years. Spain had three police forces, local, national, and Guardia Civil. The last mob were a paramilitary force, hopelessly over-armed ie light machine guns, mortars, grenades, and assault rifles. They existed to dominate the civilian population and protect Franco's legacy.

Rangers opponents, Moscow Dynamo were the KGB team. The KGB were the Communist Party equivalent of the Guardia Civil. No supporters from Moscow were allowed to travel, Dynamo's supporters that night were Russian embassy and consular staff. Further, a few dozen communist party members from France, Germany, and Italy attended.

The game was televised live around Europe, although not in Scotland(the SFA refused permission, only allowing a 2 hour delayed transmission because Scotland were playing Wales at Hampden the same evening). It was the live TV aspect that caused the battle on the pitch.

The Spanish authorities were determined to be seen to be in control, given the KGB element in the equation. A minute before the final whistle, the referee blew up and raised his arm. The Rangers support(30,000) invaded the park to celebrate. This was quite normal in those days(Scotland at Wembley, ra Sellik in Lisbon, Chelsea after their FA cup win over Leeds at Old Trafford). It was not the end of the game, the ref was blowing for a free kick. The Bears could not fully return to their seats because of fencing and a moat surrounding the pitch. A further minute and this time the ref's whistle signalled the end, again the Bears rushed on to the playing surface. I should point out I was an eye witness, as a secondary schoolboy, my old man took me to the game and we were seated in the upper tier.

Several thousand Rangers supporters celebrated on the pitch, Spanish national TV relayed concerns about how the country's authorities were being portrayed on screen across Europe. The Guardia Civil were ordered in to restore 'order'. Dressed in their ruritanian green uniforms with capes and packing machine pistols, they formed two diagonal extended lines and proceeded to march across the pitch swinging batons. They forced the Bears back into the last third. The TV was continuing to broadcast.

The Bears reaction was very Scottish and very working class. They stood toe to toe and battered the fcuk out of the Guardia Civil. The lines broke and paramilitaries were being chased around the field. The live TV plug was ordered to be pulled, transmission went down because the Fascists could not be seen to loose control. The locals in the crowd cheered wildly. It was the first time in four decades that Catalans had seen their oppressors taking a pasting.

The Catalans respected the Bears' reaction so much, they extended an invitation to Rangers to come back to the ground three years later(after Franco stood down) to play in their celebratory international tourney, (involving Bilbao, Ajax, Barca, and Rangers) the Jaun Gamper Trophy.

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Thanks for that DR. Do you think the heavy-handedness of the police was because the game was played in the Catalonian capital and they didn't want mass celebrations going on in that particular area?

Franco controlled the police, the Catalonians hated Franco, it was the last area to fall to Franco in the civil war. Franco was Rome's man in Spain. The Rangers fans didn't help that night by invading the pitch at various times before, during and after the match, but the police were on a mission, and they were plenty of them. The locals in bars after the match said the police do it all the time, they said they were absolute bastards.

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The ECWC final in Barcelona in 1972 was an explosive cocktail demanding initiation.

Spain was still a fascist country ruled by Il Caudillo, General Franco. He was the victor of the Spanish civil war(1936-39). Spain was/is a loose coalition of warring tribes, Franco subjugated the Basques, Catalans, Galicians, ..... etc. Castilian Spain dominated absolutely for 35 years. Spain had three police forces, local, national, and Guardia Civil. The last mob were a paramilitary force, hopelessly over-armed ie light machine guns, mortars, grenades, and assault rifles. They existed to dominate the civilian population and protect Franco's legacy.

Rangers opponents, Moscow Dynamo were the KGB team. The KGB were the Communist Party equivalent of the Guardia Civil. No supporters from Moscow were allowed to travel, Dynamo's supporters that night were Russian embassy and consular staff. Further, a few dozen communist party members from France, Germany, and Italy attended.

The game was televised live around Europe, although not in Scotland(the SFA refused permission, only allowing a 2 hour delayed transmission because Scotland were playing Wales at Hampden the same evening). It was the live TV aspect that caused the battle on the pitch.

The Spanish authorities were determined to be seen to be in control, given the KGB element in the equation. A minute before the final whistle, the referee blew up and raised his arm. The Rangers support(30,000) invaded the park to celebrate. This was quite normal in those days(Scotland at Wembley, ra Sellik in Lisbon, Chelsea after their FA cup win over Leeds at Old Trafford). It was not the end of the game, the ref was blowing for a free kick. The Bears could not fully return to their seats because of fencing and a moat surrounding the pitch. A further minute and this time the ref's whistle signalled the end, again the Bears rushed on to the playing surface. I should point out I was an eye witness, as a secondary schoolboy, my old man took me to the game and we were seated in the upper tier.

Several thousand Rangers supporters celebrated on the pitch, Spanish national TV relayed concerns about how the country's authorities were being portrayed on screen across Europe. The Guardia Civil were ordered in to restore 'order'. Dressed in their ruritanian green uniforms with capes and packing machine pistols, they formed two diagonal extended lines and proceeded to march across the pitch swinging batons. They forced the Bears back into the last third. The TV was continuing to broadcast.

The Bears reaction was very Scottish and very working class. They stood toe to toe and battered the fcuk out of the Guardia Civil. The lines broke and paramilitaries were being chased around the field. The live TV plug was ordered to be pulled, transmission went down because the Fascists could not be seen to loose control. The locals in the crowd cheered wildly. It was the first time in four decades that Catalans had seen their oppressors taking a pasting.

The Catalans respected the Bears' reaction so much, they extended an invitation to Rangers to come back to the ground three years later(after Franco stood down) to play in their celebratory international tourney, (involving Bilbao, Ajax, Barca, and Rangers) the Jaun Gamper Trophy.

One of the funniest happenings was the police dogs were so confused they were attacking their handlers.

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One of the funniest happenings was the police dogs were so confused they were attacking their handlers.

There is a story often related to that night reference the Guardia Civils attack dogs, I wonder if it's apocryphal?

They released 12 Alsatians into the fray and only 3 returned. Apparently, the other 9 dogs returned to Scotland and were to be found in Castlemilk, Kilwinning, Larkhall, ...... only obeying commands in Scottish attempts at Spanish.

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I heard that the Strathclyde Police advised the Spanish authorities regarding how many officers would be required to police the game. This advice was ridiculed by the Spaniards as, in their experience, all the guardia had to do was turn up and any crowd would disperse. They, however, had not reckoned on the bears and, when faced with uncowed and unbowed people prepared to stand up to them, simply panicked. Had they taken the advice of Strathclyde Police, or better still, allowed them to police the game, any trouble would probably hve been averted. I was at the match and the arrogance of the guardia was unbelievable.

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My dad and his mates were at the game and confirmed what's been said for years but the press in Scotland chose to ignore.

The ref blew the whistle right near the end and his gestures made fans think the game was over.

It was common in Euro finals for the fans to run on the park to celebrate once the game was over.

It was a genuine mistake not a pitch invasion and the Franco police loved the excuse to beat fuck out of every Rangers fan on the pitch with big batons.

The filthy ones do it,it's a celebration,we do it,it's a pitch invasion and a two year fuckin ban.

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Why have I only found out about this version of events until recently? (and by a guy from a different country) Why have I never heard this version of events in Scotland, even amongst Rangers fans? Has it ever been written about? There must be some older bears out there who can help with this. If this was septic they would be portraying themselves as revolutionaries and freedom fighters and they would be shouting it from the rooftops but we just sit back and take their bullshit 'thugs and troublemakers narrative' like fucking sheep. Can anyone point me to any article written on this?

I was there in '72. I was a student and 11 of us hired a LWB Landrover to go. Before the game, I was in Catalunya Square a few of us met some Spanish students and after a bit of "pigeon" English/Spanish chat I arranged to meet them after the game. The pitch invasion at the end was totally non-violent and purely celebratory. None of the Moscow Dynamo players was touched which was made apparent at the UEFA enquiry. The fans were simply celebrating and the attack by the Guardia Civil only started after the TV transmission was stopped. It did not happen immediately. They just suddenly started to lash out with their batons. If you look at any old photos and the available TV footage you see fans simply enjoying the occasion, you can also see some police just standing watching without any visible signs of animosity either way. What was never found out is who ordered the police to attack or why. That was never going to be revealed because Spain was ruled by the dictator General Franco.

When I eventually got into the city after the game to meet up with my new friends, I was welcomed with open arms. They had heard of the trouble and were totally sympathetic to our side of events. They were delighted that the hated Guardia Civil had been given such a lesson. Just to prove the point that we were not reviled by the locals, Barcelona invited Rangers to take part in their pre-season tournament in 1974, just 2 years later, as they felt we had been ill-treated. That invitation followed one year after Franco had lost much of his power.

I had a great night in Barcelona after the game in 1972 and I had a similar good time in 1974 at the Barca tournament.

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My dad and his mates were at the game and confirmed what's been said for years but the press in Scotland chose to ignore.

The ref blew the whistle right near the end and his gestures made fans think the game was over.

It was common in Euro finals for the fans to run on the park to celebrate once the game was over.

It was a genuine mistake not a pitch invasion and the Franco police loved the excuse to beat fuck out of every Rangers fan on the pitch with big batons.

The filthy ones do it,it's a celebration,we do it,it's a pitch invasion and a two year fuckin ban.

They also were going to take the cup from us, But the Dutch FA supported us, and they relented.

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